Colour laser costs more to buy, more to feed, and most people print in black.
Verdict
A monochrome laser is cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, faster and more reliable, because it has one toner cartridge instead of four. A colour laser makes sense if you genuinely print colour documents regularly. Buy monochrome unless you know you need colour; buy colour laser for business documents, not for photographs.
~$180
Check Brother HL-L2460DW Mono Laser Price~$450
Check HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw Price| Brother HL-L2460DW Mono Laser | HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw | |
|---|---|---|
| Toner cartridges | One | Four |
| Cost per page | Very low | Several times higher |
| Replacement cost event | One cartridge | Four, at intervals |
| Photo quality | No | Adequate, not photo grade |
| Speed | Fast | Fast in mono, slower in colour |
| Purchase price | Lower | Much higher |
You print documents. The overwhelming majority of home and small office printing is black text, and a mono laser does it faster, cheaper and with fewer things to fail than anything else. Toner also does not dry out, which is why lasers suit people who print in bursts.
Check Brother HL-L2460DW Mono Laser on Amazon
You produce colour reports, presentations or marketing material in-house. Colour laser is built for documents with colour in them rather than for photographs, and a good inkjet still beats it for photo output.
Check HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw on Amazon
Toner is a dry powder and does not dry out or clog. An inkjet left for months often needs a cleaning cycle and may have blocked nozzles; a laser simply prints. If you print rarely but need it to work, laser is the safer choice.
Not really. They produce acceptable colour on plain paper for charts and logos, but photo reproduction is noticeably behind a decent inkjet on photo paper. Buy a colour laser for documents, not images.
A separate consumable on many lasers that wears out after several toner cartridges. It is easy to overlook when comparing running costs, so include it in any cost per page calculation.
Comparison based on published manufacturer specifications and the general consensus of owner reports. We have not tested these units side by side. Confirm current prices and specifications before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
For specific machines, see our Brother MFC-L5710DW review on the mono side, where an 11,000-page cartridge produces the cheapest pages here, and our HP M479fdw review on the colour side.